Evermore
by ParanormalCupcakez
Summary: When Zim mysteriously disappears, Dib has to face the facts. Zim may never return; he may even be dead. But what happens when he starts to loose grasp of his sanity...? (Hinted ZADR; don't like, don't read. Rated T for violence.)
1. Rude Awakening

The_ knife gently grazed the wallpaper as he crept down the dark hallway. As he continued, the blade cut deeper into the thin paper, making a long split along the whole length of the wall. It made a sickening grinding sound as it hit the actual drywall and scraped it. He reached his destination, grinning as he reeled his head around the doorway. Good. He was still sleeping. Shhing! The stranger ripped his blade away from the wall roughly and brought it closer to his side. Making sure he was as quiet as he could be, he approached the adult's sleeping form. He was close, close enough to see the details on the man's pale, peaceful face. The corner of the stranger's mouth lifted in a wicked smile as he slapped a hand over the sleeping man's mouth. The raven-haired man's eyes opened, not understanding what was going on, but they soon filled with panic and realization. His muffled scream filled the air. "Shhhhhh….." His green-skin assailant cooed, tracing his cheek with the sharp edge of the knife. Before he could react, the blade was shoved deep into his chest, his vision going white._

xxxxxxxxx

"GAH!" Dib sat up in the bed, gasping for air. The sheets were is a mangled knot around his legs and torso, almost strangling him. His body was coated in sweat and he felt lightheaded. "Another nightmare…" He sighed and ripped the dangerous knots of the bed sheets off of him. The bright green numbers on the digital clock next to him read "2:36 A.M.". Dib's hands found themselves resting on his face. It wasn't even 3:00 yet. On nights like this, he could never go back to sleep. Even though he was still frazzled, his bare feet somehow made it to the carpeted floor. He shuffled across the floor to the small bathroom his bedroom held.

His reflection was horrid, like usual. His skin was extremely pale, sinking in a bit on his cheeks. Dark bruise-colored shadows loomed under his eyes from lack of sleep. A dark bloom of purple was splattered on his cheek, being the result of a blow his sister had thrown at his face when she had visited. His hair was messy, his scythe-lock hanging loosely in front of his face. His appearance was always like this. It never changed. It stayed this horrible, no matter how hard he tried to fix it. No sleep, not getting enough food, and constant beatings could really change the way you look.

Dib turned on the faucet in the sink and splashed his face with cold water a couple of times. The icy liquid immediately knocked the sleep out of him. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wiped his face, sighing.

_Why…why doesn't he ever leave my mind? He's there….in my dreams….my thoughts….everywhere…_

He felt warmth as he threw on his trench coat over his almost bare body. Shakily, he approached the window and slid it open, sliding out of it and onto the fire escape. Immediately, a cold gust of wind and the sound of cars flying by greeted him. An exhale of relief escaped him as he approached the railing, causing a small puff of smoke to form as his warm breath met the cold outside air. He always did this on nights he had nightmares (which, was pretty much every night). It soothed him most of the time. It allowed him to clear his mind the most that he could. It was impossible for him to completely get _him_ out of his mind. He haunts him and forever will…..

Dib shook his head. "Stop thinking about that menace. You're trying to calm down, not have a breakdown…" Great. Now he was talking to himself. His thoughts started to drift further at that moment. What was up with that nightmare? It was so….._disturbing_. He couldn't seem to push it from his mind. It was as if the nightmare had a meaning to it, a hidden message that he was supposed to figure out. Was…was Zim coming back to murder him…? No, that couldn't be. They had become friends not too long before he disappeared…

He felt a pain in his hand as he slammed his hand against the metal railing in frustration. He ignored it, grasping his head in confusion and anger. Why did he have to live through this?! Where did his life ever go wrong?! His thoughts were in a mangled and twisted mass. Ever since the alien had vanished, his life went downhill. His family started to treat him even more horrible than usual. He lost his job and his money. His sanity started to wear away….at least, that's what other people said. He never really believed it, but now, he started to. Zim was always in his dreams and his nightmares and always found a way to creep into his thoughts. And, recently, he started to put himself in physical form….through Dib's hallucinations. He was really beginning to think he had lost his mind.

He heard the wail of a siren in the distance, somewhere deep in the city, distracting him. Car horns blared on the busy street below him. The dark-haired adult glanced below to see what had happened. The cars were all slowed to a stop, a long line starting to build up. Another car wreck, he guessed. The idiots who drove through these streets never gave attention to the speed limit, so it was no wonder. He remembered the time Zim and he had almost wrecked his car. Dib had usually driven him places since the alien didn't have a car or a driver's license. One particular day, Zim had begged him to let him drive for once. Dib hadn't agreed to the idea, of course. It was far too dangerous. But, using his usual aggressive ways, Zim had shoved Dib out of the driver's seat and started up the car. Dib had no time to even try to stop him before they were going at an unbelievably fast speed down the road. Zim had laughed the whole time, even when he almost hit 2 pedestrians. Suddenly, one of the traffic lights had changed to red in a split second and Zim wasn't prepared to stop. Dib had saved them by quickly lunging out of his seat and slamming his foot on the brake before they rammed into a silver truck.

Dib smiled slightly at the memory, but then frowned. He had no idea where Zim was….they could never once again share the memories they had together. He felt a tear slip from his eye and roll down his cheek. He glanced downward again, looking at the cold, hard pavement below him. His apartment was on the 6th story, so there was quite a distance from the ground. A thought made its way into his mind. What if he just ended everything? One jump from this height and it would all be over as soon as he hit the concrete. He bit his lip.

_What should I do?_


	2. FLASHBACK: When Help Is Needed

A/N: I'm so sorry! It's been almost a month :C I was down in Tennessee visiting family for a while and everything's just been crazy. :C I promise, the next chapter of I.C.B.W. will be up soon :) By the way, Italics=Flashbacks, memories, dreams.

_It was late, a little past midnight. The teenager was lying in his bed in a deep, peaceful slumber. Everything in the house was still. The air was even thick with silence. Then suddenly, there were two loud bangs from downstairs. The sleeping teen's eyes fluttered open, having been awoken by the extremely loud noise. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He grabbed his glasses on the wooden bedside table and slowly arose to his feet. He groggily shuffled downstairs to investigate the noise. After all, what could it have been at this hour? Everyone was asleep. Suddenly, he jumped as he heard it again. Two distinct bangs, but even louder this time and slower. Dib flew to the front door, which was where the sound came from. Someone could've needed his help! He quickly unlocked it and turned the knob. _

_He had barely any time to think about the scene in front of him. Zim was there. He was hunched over, grabbing his side and covered in fresh wounds that still leaked blood. His clothes hung in loose strips from his small frame, having been ripped to shreds by something. One of his eyes was completely shut because of a large, swelling bruise that was on his cheek. Dib was shocked. He quickly, but gently, grabbed Zim's shoulders and looked at him. _

"_Oh my gosh! Zim, what happened?!" He started to lead him in the house, waiting for Zim's answer. Zim spoke very slowly and hoarsely._

"_Two guys…t-took me…beat me up…." He managed to say. Dib slowly set Zim on the couch, carefully so he wouldn't hurt him anymore. Dib didn't know what to do. Zim was his enemy…the one that was trying to destroy the very planet he lived on. But Zim hadn't done anything evil at all lately…which was very suspicious. And Zim was really hurt. Dib wasn't cruel enough to just let Zim bleed to death, though. He rushed over to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets, pulling out a First Aid kit. He then returned to Zim, kneeling down so he could be at Zim's level. The alien was now laying on the couch, groaning, with his eyes closed and his face scrunched up in pain. _

_His right hand still applied pressure to his left side. Dib was confused at this, but then he saw. Blood drenched the fabric of the part of Zim's shirt that covered his side. The teen could tell it was still flowing, too, because it started to drip off of his skin and onto the couch fabric. He instantly ripped open the First Aid kit and pulled out a large roll of gauze and a tube of medicine that would clean the wounds of any bacteria (since he couldn't clean it out with a wet washcloth because it would burn Zim's skin). _

"_Zim, I'm going to help you, okay? Just stay calm, even if it hurts. I promise I'm going to fix you up." Dib whispered in a soft and convincing voice. He may have seemed confident on the outside, but on the inside, he was scared…scared that he wouldn't be able to save him. Zim let out little whines, but forced himself to nod. Dib went to work as fast as he could. He easily applied the medicine and some band-aids to the small wounds that covered his body, but then, he came to Zim's side. He ever so gently removed the Irken's hand from that area and got a negative response from him. Zim uttered a loud hiss of pain and arched his back, squirming a bit. _

"_Zim, STOP! I'm trying to help you!" Zim only let out more loud noises that sound like pained squeals and started to writhe even more. Dib had no choice but to restrain him by holding down his arms and forcing him to stay completely still for a minute. Zim eventually calmed enough to where Dib didn't have to hold onto him. He took a deep breath and lifted the little bit of fabric that clung to the injured male's_ _side, completely wet with blood. He wasn't prepared for what he saw. There, on the bruised emerald skin was a huge, deep gash that blood flowed from uncontrollably. Other gashes that were less deep surrounded it. Dib covered his mouth in shock and tears started to form in his eyes._

_The cut was so deep…he didn't know if he could save Zim. He shakily grabbed the cloth he had been using to apply medicine and squeezed a lot of the medicine onto it. As soon as the cloth met the horrible wound, Zim hissed. Dib ignored it and continued to rub the liquid onto it. He then held the cloth there, applying a great amount of pressure to get it to stop bleeding. To finish the job, he wrapped the gauze securely around the wound. The teenager panted and glanced at Zim._

_He was looking straight at the human, right into his eyes. _

"_T-thank you…Dib…." He whispered. Dib smiled. _

"_No problem, Spaceboy. You can sleep on the couch. I'll sit in here and watch you just in case you need me." Dib stood and started to walk over to a chair that was placed conveniently close to the sofa when he felt a hand weakly grasp his wrist. Turning to look around, he saw Zim, a pleading look in his eyes, grabbing onto his hand._

"_Stay…here…" He spoke softly. Dib blushed, knowing Zim wanted him to sleep on the sofa with him. He sighed and weakly smiled. _

"_Alright." Carefully, he lifted Zim up in his arms and sat on the couch. Zim laid in his arms awkwardly for a few moments, then Zim slowly placed his head on the human's chest. He closed his eyes, nuzzling the human a bit. Dib's face became even more flushed, but he smiled._

_Maybe we can push our differences behind us…maybe we could…give up being enemies…._


	3. Realization

**A/N**: The suckiness continues! :D My writing keeps getting worse every single day! :D I really need some inspiration for these first few chapters. I have EVERYTHING planned out for the later ones, but like I said, it's hard for me to connect those points. :c

Pain filled his entire body, his joints feeling unbelievably sore. As he felt the pain, he groaned. Bright, harsh lights filled the room. Dib squinted against them, getting an immediate headache.

_What's going on? Where am I?_

"Oh good! You're awake." A man spoke from somewhere. Dib blinked a couple times, finally getting used to the lights, but still couldn't see much because he was missing his glasses.

"Huh? Where am I? Who are you?" He questioned. He could hear a constant "beep" from beside him and a slight hum from a machine. The atmosphere smelled of chemicals and disinfectant. Dib tried to move, but barely could. He was lying in a bed of some sort. He heard a deep chuckle.

"You're in the hospital, Dib. Don't you remember what happened?" The man spoke. Dib was confused, but then it hit him. He had been sitting on the fire escape of his apartment, thinking about jumping and ending his life. Ending the pain, torment, and insanity. Climbing onto the railing, he had sat on it, still clutching firmly onto the metal. He was about to jump, when he had changed his mind. Maybe this _wasn't_ the right decision. Maybe his life would end up getting better…then, as he was about to slide back over the railing, he slipped. Letting out a scream, he caught onto the railing, dangling from the balcony. Witnesses of the horrifying scene started to freak out. "Call 911!" Someone had screamed. Dib yelled and tried to pull himself back up, but it was no use. His grip gave way, and he plummeted towards the hard concrete.

Dib couldn't remember anything after that.

"How did I survive?" He softly asked. He heard the doctor chuckle again.

"Well, luckily, you landed on someone who had conveniently been standing on the sidewalk beneath you. The man was alright, but he was worried about you. You hit your head pretty hard during the fall and were knocked unconscious. He brought you here and told us what happened. I took you up to this room with my team of doctors and started immediately working away. I told one of the nurses to go to the lobby to the man to ask what his name was, but…she told me he was gone, but she did find an envelope addressed to you. It was full of money…just enough to pay for your treatment. My guess is that the man left it." He paused and shrugged. "But we'll never know who that man was…" Dib was shocked. He slowly placed a hand on his head where, instead of feeling his hair on one side, he felt soft bandage wrap. His thoughts spun out of control as he stared blankly at the floor. Who was the man? He needed to know! After all, he had saved his life.

The doctor approached him and slid something onto his face. Suddenly, he was able to see again. The doctor had given him his glasses.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem. Your sister brought them in for you." Dib frowned, thinking it was strange Gaz would have actually done that for them. He only shrugged it off.

"So…how long do I have to stay here?" Dib asked. He really didn't enjoy hospitals and wanted to be back in the comfort of his own apartment.

"You can go home today, actually. Nothing was major. You just had some bruising on your head and body from the collision. You also had a cut of your head that was pretty deep, but we took care of it. You may have some headaches, though, so you'll just have to take some Tylenol every now and then if you need it. But please come back here in about 2 weeks. We'll need to check up on you."

The injured man sighed in relief. He was glad he could just go home. But still….he couldn't help but wonder who the mysterious man who had saved him was….

xxxxxx

Dib groaned. The doctor had been right. He'd definitely get headaches. He grasped his head as he unlocked the door to his apartment. He had been let out of the hospital an hour ago and was finally home. People stared at him (like they always did), remembering the horrific incident that happened the night before. Anger started to boil in him as more people started to stare. He finally turned to them, narrowing his eyes.

"Do you _MIND_?!" He yelled. The people then turned away in fright. After all, the sight of a sickly, very unstable-looking man yelling at you wasn't very normal or pleasing. Dib growled and forcefully shoved open his door, slamming it behind him. He entered the room and collapsed onto the sofa, groaning and gripping his head. This was a _lot_ to take in…he wished he had never even gone out onto that stupid fire escape. His thoughts had almost lead to his demise. If that man hadn't of been there, he…he would have died.

"What was I thinking?!" He said aloud to himself. He rubbed his face, and then stared up at the ceiling. "I guess my inner insanity got the best of me…" Turning to lay on his side, he groaned as an excruciating pain shot through his injured head. Dib closed his eyes tight, clenching his teeth together as he waited for the pain to pass. As it eventually died down, fatigue had taken over him. His eyelids grew heavy and before he knew it, he was in a deep sleep, allowing his nightmares to have full access to his mind.

A/N: I wonder who the mystery man was. :/


End file.
